German Possessive Pronouns: Mein, Dein, Sein, Ihr & Endings
German possessive pronouns explained: mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer endings by gender and case. Tables, the euer rule, common mistakes — A1 reference.
German possessive pronouns — mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, and the formal Ihr — are the words you use to say my, your, his, her, our, and their before a noun. They decline exactly like the indefinite article ein and the negative kein: the stem identifies the owner, and the ending agrees with the gender, number, and case of the noun being owned. Get this one pattern right and three other A1 topics — articles, kein, and pronouns — fall into place at the same time.
The trickiest part is not the table; it is realizing that German splits the agreement in two. Sein Buch means "his book" because the owner is male — Buch itself is neuter. Ihre Tasche means "her bag" because the owner is female — Tasche itself is feminine. Below: every stem, every nominative and accusative ending, the euer → eure drop rule, and the mistakes learners actually make.
German possessive pronouns at a glance
The eight stems, one for every personal pronoun, with the formal Ihr listed separately:
To turn these stems and endings into something automatic, scroll to the trainer at the foot of the page: it serves up free mein/dein/sein/ihr gap-fills, asks for no account, and confirms each ending the second you commit to it.
| Personal pronoun | Possessive stem | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | mein | my |
| du | dein | your (informal singular) |
| er | sein | his |
| sie (she) | ihr | her |
| es | sein | its |
| wir | unser | our |
| ihr (you all) | euer | your (informal plural) |
| sie (they) | ihr | their |
| Sie (formal) | Ihr | your (formal, always capitalized) |
Memorize the stems first, then the endings. The same four-cell table (masculine / feminine / neuter / plural) applies to every stem.
What are German possessive pronouns?
A German possessive pronoun stands in front of a noun and marks who owns it: mein Vater (my father), dein Auto (your car), unsere Lehrerin (our teacher). Grammarians often call them possessive determiners or possessive articles, because they take the slot an article would normally fill — you say mein Buch, never der mein Buch.
Three practical consequences:
- They follow the ein-pattern. Whatever ending ein, eine, einen would take in the same slot is the ending the possessive takes.
- They decline by gender, number, and case of the noun they introduce — not by the owner's gender.
- The stem still tells you who the owner is. Sein vs ihr is the difference between "his book" and "her book" even though both books are neuter.
A1 covers the nominative and accusative; dative and genitive are introduced in german-possessives-dative and german-possessives-genitive.
How do mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer change in the nominative?
The nominative is the case of the subject and of nouns after sein, werden, bleiben:
Mein Bruder wohnt in Berlin. — My brother lives in Berlin. Unsere Mutter ist Lehrerin. — Our mother is a teacher.
Nominative endings
| Gender | Ending | Example (mein) |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | – (no ending) | mein Vater |
| Feminine | -e | meine Mutter |
| Neuter | – (no ending) | mein Kind |
| Plural | -e | meine Kinder |
The same four endings apply to dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, Ihr — without exception. Masculine and neuter look bare; feminine and plural always carry -e.
How does the accusative change the endings?
The accusative marks the direct object and follows the accusative prepositions (durch, für, gegen, ohne, um):
Ich besuche meinen Bruder. — I'm visiting my brother. Hast du deine Tasche dabei? — Do you have your bag with you?
Accusative endings
| Gender | Ending | Example (mein) |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | -en | meinen Vater |
| Feminine | -e | meine Mutter |
| Neuter | – (no ending) | mein Kind |
| Plural | -e | meine Kinder |
The only thing that changes
Compare the two tables: feminine, neuter, and plural are identical in nominative and accusative. Only masculine picks up -en in the accusative. This is the same shift you already know from der → den and ein → einen — so if you have those memorized, you have the possessive pattern memorized too. See german-articles for the full article paradigm and german-kein for the parallel negation.
The euer rule: why eure and not euere
The stem euer loses its middle -e- as soon as any ending attaches, to avoid the awkward -euere- / -eueren- cluster:
| Combination | Expected | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| euer + -e | eure | |
| euer + -en | euren |
Examples:
- Eure Mutter ist nett. — Your (pl.) mother is nice. (feminine nominative)
- Ich sehe euren Vater. — I see your (pl.) father. (masculine accusative)
- Eure Kinder sind hier. — Your (pl.) children are here. (plural nominative)
unser keeps its -e-: unsere Mutter, unseren Vater, unsere Kinder. The cluster unsere- does not feel awkward to German speakers, so no drop happens.
Sein, ihr, Ihr: same endings, different owners
The three stems sein / ihr / Ihr carry identical endings, so the only way to tell them apart is the stem itself and (for Ihr) the capital I:
| Phrase | Owner | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| sein Buch | he / it (a masc. or neut. owner) | his book / its book |
| ihr Buch | she | her book |
| ihr Buch | they | their book |
| Ihr Buch | a formally addressed person | your book (formal) |
Context normally disambiguates the two ihr's: a singular subject (Anna mag ihr Buch) reads as "her", a plural subject (Die Kinder mögen ihr Buch) reads as "their". In writing, Ihr is always capitalized — that is the only orthographic clue.
Stem vs. ending: who matches what?
This is the single most common confusion. The two halves of the possessive answer two different questions:
- The stem answers: whose is it? — owner's person and (for he/she/it) owner's gender.
- The ending answers: what is it? — the gender, number, and case of the noun.
Worked through:
- Sein Buch (his book) — stem sein because the owner is male; no ending because Buch is neuter, nominative.
- Ihre Tasche (her bag) — stem ihr because the owner is female; ending -e because Tasche is feminine, nominative.
- Er hat seinen Hund verloren. — stem sein because the owner is male; ending -en because Hund is masculine, accusative.
- Ich liebe meine Eltern. — stem mein because the owner is "I"; ending -e because Eltern is plural, accusative.
If you find yourself reaching for "feminine ending because the owner is a woman", stop. Owner gender lives in the stem; noun gender lives in the ending. See german-noun-gender for how to pin down the noun's gender in the first place.
Common mistakes with German possessive pronouns
The errors below are the recurring ones at A1, with the corrected form on the right.
| Mistake | Why it's wrong | Correct form |
|---|---|---|
| seine Buch (because the owner is a woman) | Stem ihr would be right for "her", but the ending must match the noun, not the owner. Buch is neuter → no ending. | ihr Buch (her book) |
| mein Mutter | Mutter is feminine; feminine nominative needs -e on the possessive. | meine Mutter |
| Ich sehe mein Bruder. | Bruder is masculine and the direct object → masculine accusative → -en. | Ich sehe meinen Bruder. |
| eueres Auto / eueren Vater | When euer takes an ending, the middle -e- drops. | euer Auto (no ending), euren Vater |
| ihre Buch for "his book" | Mixed up the stem. The owner is male → sein, not ihr. Buch is neuter → no ending. | sein Buch (his book) |
| ihr Buch for "your book" in a formal email | The formal "your" is Ihr — always capitalized in writing. | Ihr Buch |
| meine Kinder used as an accusative object stays the same — but learners overcorrect to meinen Kinder | Plural accusative has the same ending as plural nominative: -e. The -en only appears for masculine singular accusative. | Ich liebe meine Kinder. |
The shortcut: once you have set the stem from the owner, finish the form by asking only one question — gender, number, and case of the following noun? — and apply the same four endings every time.
10 exercises on this rule · about 5 min
Frequently asked questions
What are the German possessive pronouns?
There are eight stems: mein (my), dein (your, informal singular), sein (his / its), ihr (her), sein (its), unser (our), euer (your, informal plural), ihr (their), and Ihr (your, formal — always capitalized). Each one attaches the same endings as ein/kein, so the gender and case of the noun decide the final form.
Is it mein or meinen?
Use mein when the noun is masculine or neuter in the nominative (mein Bruder, mein Kind) and meinen when the noun is masculine in the accusative (Ich besuche meinen Bruder). Feminine and plural take meine in both cases. The stem only adds -en for masculine accusative.
What is the difference between sein and ihr in German?
Sein means his (or its, for a neuter noun owner); ihr means her or their, depending on whether the owner is one woman or a group. Capitalized Ihr means the formal your. The endings are identical — sein/ihr/Ihr all decline the same way.
Why does euer become eure and euren?
When euer takes any ending, the -e- before -r drops for pronunciation: euer + -e = eure (not euere), euer + -en = euren (not eueren). The stem unser keeps its -e- (unsere, unseren) because it does not produce the same awkward cluster.
Do possessive pronouns agree with the owner or the noun?
The stem (mein, dein, sein, ihr…) agrees with the owner — who possesses the thing. The ending agrees with the noun being possessed — its gender, number, and case. So sein Buch is his book (stem sein for him, no ending for neuter Buch); seine Tasche is his bag (stem sein for him, -e for feminine Tasche).
Are German possessives articles or pronouns?
Strictly speaking they are possessive determiners (also called possessive articles): they sit in front of a noun and replace the article — mein Buch, not der mein Buch. True possessive pronouns stand alone (Das Buch ist meins). Most coursebooks call the in-front-of-noun forms possessive pronouns; the function is the same and the endings follow the ein-pattern.
Where can I practise German possessive pronouns for free?
Use the interactive trainer at the bottom of this page. It generates mein/dein/sein/ihr endings to fill in, costs nothing, needs no registration, and tells you straight away whether you picked mein, meine, or meinen correctly.